Review: Diabhal

Sometimes the joy of being an author is someone sliding over a book and whispering “Look at this.

In this case, got my hands on Diabhal (translates to “Devil”). The author, Kathleen Kaufman, delights in playing with Celtic mythology. And with mythology being something I’m quite entranced with, I took the bait.

What I found was a book that I can best compare to, in tone, Stephen King’s Firestarter. It involves a young girl growing up with a legacy that would overwhelm a adult versus forces that seem so confident they have control of the situation when in reality, they are poking at a self-inflicted Armageddon.

The author pays exquisite attention to the landscape of Los Angeles and presents it in glorious detail, taking delight in all the cults and conspiracies that seem to fester in our social woodwork.

She also uses Celtic mythology to reframe what could be a typical good vs evil story. And the end of the novel leaves the tantalizing message that there’s further mysteries to uncover.

And a rather ominous future on the rise.

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